Renault considering various bids for team

Renault has 2 main bidders to take control of its Formula 1 team. David Richards’ Prodrive faces competition from Luxembourg investment fund Genii Capital.

Renault’s executive committee met in Paris yeaterday to discuss the future of the team, before a decisive board meeting next week. It is understood that no formal decisions were made in the meeting, but the executives are edging towards which bid they wish to go for.

This was first reported by the French newspaper Le Parisien this morning, and has been confirmed by sources close to the deal.

Genii Capital’s plan is being run by businessman Gerard Lopez. Their plan is to run the team as Renault for the next two seasons. 75 to 100% of the team will be bought under this plan.

There are a few reasons why Genii Capital’s plan is being favoured – but mostly because it has the backing of Bernie Ecclestone. The executives seem to prefer Genii Capital, but management are more inclined towards Prodrive.

When asked about this, Bernie Ecclestone answered: “We’ve got to get the whole Renault thing sorted out. We are in the middle of doing it now. I feel confident that we’ll see Renault next year in Formula 1 under the name Renault and the year after and the year after that.”